iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Sweet! Just picked up one of these myself although it's one of the DIP branded ones. Will have try out your program and get some easy money 😀

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Sweet! I use to have it's distant relative, the GRiD 1101

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

While visiting the Timeline computer museum (UK) last year, I was lucky enough to be able to stick my head inside one of these beasts. Very cool!

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Customer - "Can you print this on a T-Shirt?" Me - "Yes.... Did you use AI to create this?" Customer - "Yeah, ChatGPT is great!" Me - "Errr, your phoenix appears to have two heads" Customer - "But it looks good. It'll be fine. AI is great!" <SIGH> 🤦

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Nevermind, here's a Mandelbrot I printed to cheer you up! 😉

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Probably an obvious one but is the video plug / shunt installed?

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Thanks to @tnmoc.bsky.social for putting on a most excellent jumble sale! I've picked up a couple of projects that will keep me busy for a while 😀

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

If you see this, quote with a time travel movie that's not BACK TO THE FUTURE.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Woohoo! Microsoft BASIC 2 loaded from paper tape! 😀

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Copy of the tape made. Let's try and load it 😟

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Going through some old paper tapes and found this. It's version 2 of Microsoft BASIC from 1975. Version 1 was never released to the public which makes this Microsoft's first commercial product and it's not been archived anywhere! Time to break out my tape reader... 🙂

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

This morning, I have been mostly testing Apple II disk drives. They all work! 😯

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

I managed to grab some more photos of it.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

All set up and ready for Retrofest tomorrow! 🙂

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Getting things ready to take to Retrofest. Less than a week to go! Yikes!!

A stack of MITS Altair computers. At the bottom, an 8800b. Above that, an original 8800 and on the top, the small 680b.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Yep, I think you're right. Here's a photo of a complete terminal...

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Spending the afternoon getting things ready for RetroFest later this month. Things are finally starting to work! 😀. #RetroFest www.retrofest.uk

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Looks like my copy saw a little more action. It's a great little book.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

My first KIM with a faulty RRIOT CHIP 🙁. Replaced both 6530 RRIOTs with an adaptor board containing two 6532 RIOTs and an EPROM. Looks a bit messy but at least it now works.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

Green KIM, Blue KIM, White KIM, Genuine KIM 😀

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Indeed! The original tube in this VT125 had some nasty screen burn so the only choice was to fit a nice slow phosphor one 😀

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Check out this lovely bit of Commodore engineering. Voltage regulator with a heatsink that snakes over to the cartridge port shielding. How do we attach the heatsink? Rivet to the regulator and use thermal compound & wishful thinking on the other end!

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Motherboard is a nice early revision too. Most chips seem to be dated late 1982.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

I'm guessing it might be an early one 🤔

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

First day back at work - boo! 🙁 First ebay parcel of 2025 - yay! 😊 Thanks Postie!

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Happy New Year! This year, I'm aiming to do some exercise every single day. I've just completed a 30 minute walk so off to a good start! ⭐

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Here's the CPU at work in an IMP-16P computer. Thanks for following along with my series of CPU posts. Hope you have enjoyed them. Tune in next month as I start my collection of carbon film resistors 😉 Happy New Year!

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

The last CPU is a weird one. It's the National Semiconductor IMP-16, the first multi-chip 16bit microprocessor from 1972. It consists of 4x RALU chips (Register + ALU) and a CROM (Control + ROM). It can be expanded with an additional CROM that extends the instruction set. The CPU runs at 715Khz ...

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Do have a few others though, R12000, R10000, R5000, R4000, R4400, R4600 and R3000

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Two for one deal today with the NEC V20 & V40 CPUs. The V20 is pin & code compatible with the Intel 8088 and slightly more efficient providing a small speed bump for XT class PCs. The V40 is an embedded version, containing a UART, programmable timer and 8255 parallel port interface.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Next up is the MIPS R12000. Introduced in 1998, it's an improved version of the R10000 CPU. It was used in a handful of machines from NEC, Siemens, Tandem and SGI. This particular one was pulled from a faulty CPU board in an SGI Origin 2000 deskside system.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Today's CPU is the 65C816 from 1985. Essentially an enhancement of the 65C02, it allows switching between 8bit & 16bit registers and address space was increased to 24bit, allowing for 16Mb of RAM. It's most commonly found in the Apple IIGS, Acorn Communicator and a modified version in the SNES.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

This is a CPU that I really want to use in a project. It's an Intersil IM6100 which is essentially a 12bit DEC PDP-8 on single chip. It was introduced in 1975, built using CMOS technology which had fairly low power consumption, making it ideal for embedded systems.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

My original was very dead and was soldered in back when I was in primary school! Found the replacement and just fitted it 😀

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Today's CPU is the Motorola 6809, released in 1978 and regarded to be one of the most powerful 8bit CPUs. It was a bit late to the scene and was pricey so didn't become as popular as the likes of the Z80 or 6502. It did find a home in machines such as the TRS-80 Coco, Fujitsu FM-7 and Dragon 32/64

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Snap! Got a replacement that I need to fit... Once I find it! 😟

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Christmas Day brings the classic Z80. Probably my favourite CPU and powered my first computer, the ZX Spectrum. The Z80 was very popular in personal computers of the late 1970s and 1980s such as the Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX80,81 & Spectrum, TRS-80s, NASCOM, MSX systems and countless CP/M Machines

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

For Christmas Eve, we have the classic 6502. Introduced in 1975, it was one of the cheapest microprocessors available. It found a home in a huge number of classic 8bit home computers such as the Commodore KIM-1, PET, VIC-20, Atari 8bits, Oric-1, BBC Micro, Apple II and more.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Today's CPU is the mighty Intel 486DX. The introduction of this chip in 1989 provided PC users with a huge boost in performance. In the early 90's I used my 486 to manage large city budgets using a package called SimCity 2000. Serious work was involved with that I can tell you!

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

😍 Lovely Stuff. I actually have a matching AMI 6800 in my Altair 680. Only clocked at 500Khz here though. Don't want to hurt the sales of the 8800 now do we?! 🤣

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Plastic or Ceramic? Today's CPU is the Motorola 6800. First introduced in 1974, it was one of the first 8bit microprocessors along with Intel's 8080. Maybe not as popular as the 8080, it did find its way into home computers of the time such as the SWTPc, Altair 680, Newbear, Sphere & Tektronix 4051.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Am I an idiot for driving 3hrs through Christmas traffic, high winds, snow & rain just to collect some old Apple kit? Yes! Yes, I am! However, I'm now an idiot with a whole load of Apple kit to play with! 😊

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Bonus photos of the CPU board and the machine it was designed to run in.

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Next up is the first commercially available 16bit microprocessor, the National Semiconductor IPC-16A PACE. Announced in 1974, it was essentially a single chip version of their previous IMP-16. It runs at 1.33Mhz and requires +5V, -12V and +8V power....

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DevilishDesign @devilishdesign.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Thanks Postie! Mmmm, chippy chips! These are Intel 1702 EPROMs which are 256 bytes each for a total 12.5K of storage!

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